Fanmode picks up $2.4 mln

Fanmode has raised $2.4 million in seed funding. Christian Jochnick, Fanmode’s co-founder and commercial director, led the round with participation from mostly Swedish and South African angel investors. Based in London, Fanmode is a real-time fan engagement startup.

PRESS RELEASE

London 24th July 2014: London-based real-time fan engagement startup Fanmode has closed a seed funding round of $2.4m to continue to develop its platform.

Fanmode has set out to make the world a stadium for sports fans. With its gesture based app, Fanmode-ready wearable devices and a custom platform developed on the principles of the Internet of Things (IOT), massively distributed real-time participation for sports fans during live events is made possible.

Fanmode allows fans to share their emotions during the game with fellow fans around the world, creating graphical representation of sentiment data that can be integrated onto stadium screens, broadcast and online.

For example, fans can ‘high-five’ each other, wave a flag, cheer their team on and shout – all in the comfort of their living room. Smartphones and wearable devices connected with Fanmode via iOS and Android apps register this input and share the data with fans in the stadium and even the players on the pitch via big screens.

The iOS and Android apps consist of three separate services – Vibecast lets users broadcast their support for their team to the entire world via gestures – clapping, cheering or waving their flag. Vibelink offers users one-on-one and group chats with other users, while Vibestream offers live updates on notable events in the game.

“Fan engagement with sporting events has traditionally been limited to those actually at the event itself. But with major sporting events there are millions of fans around the world who want to feel like part of the action and have their voice heard,” said Neven Murugan, CEO and Founder of Fanmode. “Fanmode is a service that lets fans broadcast their support into live games in real-time, using the technology at their fingertips.”

“The emotional ‘big data’ generated by fans all around the world is something that sporting teams and brands work hard to tap in to – with Fanmode, we can share this data and potential revenue derived from the platform with the sporting industry. A core part of our philosophy is that digital engagement by fans should benefit their favourite clubs,” he continued.

Fundraising has been led by Christian Jochnick, Fanmode’s Co-Founder and Commercial Director, with funding coming from primarily Swedish and South African angel investors.

To date the Fanmode team has been concentrating on building its platform with support from Wembley Stadium and developing relationships with organisations linked to the sports industry – such as Deloitte’s Sports Business Group and premium sport business group, Leaders – as well as football clubs in Europe’s top divisions including the Barclays Premier League and Spain’s premier league, Liga BBVA. The platform is currently in beta and a full launch is planned later this year.

Roger Maslin, Managing Director, Wembley Stadium, said: “I met Neven at a Stadium conference 2 years ago and was inspired by his passion for Fanmode. I think there is something in their idea and we are happy and proud to both be inspiring and supporting entrepreneurial activities that brings more fans closer to the game on match day.”

James Worrall, Founder and CEO at Leaders, said: “Fanmode is pushing the boundaries of digital fan-engagement and can prove to become a valuable tool for clubs, leagues and sponsors to gain valuable insights into the details of global fan engagement. We look forward to follow their progress.”